The Message or the Media?
January 13th, 2009 by Rob Brown
Marshall McLuhan, the Canadian philosopher and professor said that media themselves and not the stories they carry are important; their characteristics being more significant and influential than their content. He famously proclaimed that “the medium is the message”.
With the myriad reports of the decline of newspapers and broadcasters it is tempting to believe that what McLuhan pronounced is in the process of being disproved. It is argued that the channel is not important, the stories, if good enough will find us. Content rules supreme. Well yes and no. By way of example I cross posted the same story in two blogs last week. Here at PR Media Blog and on PR and The Social Web. The story (about real and fake celebrity twitters) gained more than double the number views here at PRMB, because this is the blog with more authority, both in the literal sense and in the Technorati sense. (Google the words PR and Blog if you need confirmation).
Whilst new arrivals on the web battle to gain trust and authority much of the media old guard arrives on the web with their authority established. Journalistic ethics and accuracy will continue to carry weight no matter how easy it becomes for arrivistes to establish a presence through the web. There is good reason for this; we can trust traditional media because we have learnt that the trust is well placed and because they operate checks and balances to ensure quality and veracity. In time many print newspapers will disappear but the best will survive, thrive and continue to set the news agenda, with their pixellated versions gradually replacing the ink and paper.
Tags: journalism. ethics, journalist, Marshall McLuhan, Media, medium, message, newspapers
January 13th, 2009 at 2:21 pm
the same kind of principle applies to retailers. While there will always be room for new entrants - particularly those that give more power to the consumer (moneySupermarket, confused.com for instance) or greater choice (amazon, ebay) - bricks and click retailers are likely to be the long-term winners. By combining online with the ability to shop in store shoppers get the best of both worlds. Hence why retailers like ourselves and others (Tesco, Argos) are developing online businesses that enable customers to click and collect in store. Being at home all day to recieve every online purchase isn’t very convenient. As a latecomer to the world of blogging (I joined Twitter only yesterday) it strikes me that people like me will gravitate towards blogs that come with a seal of approval, look professional, are linked to other brands I already trust or come highly recommended from people like me. I don’t “get it” as much as all you early adopters, and never will. So I want a short cut. Brands like Guardian, Telegraph and the Times give me that option. I’m sure there are millions of other laggards like me who’ll also rely on the names they recognise to give them what they want.
January 13th, 2009 at 2:41 pm
I think that the power in the brand remains hugely important. In the rush to understand the importance of the emerging web channels we tend to forget how important trust built through time and direct experience really is. I agree that applies just as much to retail as to the media.
If you are already on twitter then you are still in the vanguard (just).